Andragogy; A definition

Andragogy is the methods and techniques used to facilitate and guide the learning for those who are mature enough to take responsibility for their actions and ownership of their own personal learning journey.

While looking into the subject of Andragogy I was amazed at how poor the definitions I found are. Poor might not be the right term, they just were not robust enough. The definitions I found were very short and sweet. The first simply defined andragogy as “the methods or techniques used to teach adults” (Dictionary.com). Frankly I wanted a little more meat to my definition then this. The second was not much better. “Andragogy is the theory and practice of education of adults” (Wikipedia).

Both of these definitions mention adults. The prefix “andra” does refer to adults but what we are missing here is what is meant by adult. Traditionally we think of an adult as a person who has reached a certain age that allows them certain rights of citizenship like voting etc. When we are talking about education, this simple one dimensional view of who an adult is does not work.  There is no magic age at which a person switches from being a child to an adult with respect to education. In my definition I was a little more specific about the actions of the actual learners. A person who has taken the responsibility for their education and has made the transition of having the learning experience self directed is an adult learner, no matter what their age is.

The other part of the definitions spoke to the methods and techniques. I kind of disagree with this being so simple. It tends to let people believe that the learning is still teacher focused. Of course we still have the development of the curriculum and the teaching plan as well as content, evaluations, rubrics etc. What is missing is the understanding that in adult education the teacher becomes more of a guide to help the students explore, critically reflect and learn. Fundamentally this is the difference between teaching children and teaching adults. All the catch phrases used in post secondary education like student centered or student focused are simply indicating that they are using Andragogy or teaching adults.

You can fallow me on Twitter @jrmurrell

Jeff

Dictionary.com (October 7, 2015) Andragogy, Retrieved from; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/andragogy 

Wikipedia (October 7, 2015) Andragogy, Retrieved from; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy 

 

The Value of education

As I start to explore the many different forms of learning and consider them to the term education I have come to a conclusion, learning will occur with or without formal education but education can never exist without learning. Kind of like the connection between teaching and learning. When we consider these two terms it is very interesting the different points of view of each. "While learning is usually linked to an individual's progress in the acquisition of further knowledge, education is oriented towards a systems approach in which learning is provided in a co-ordinated manner through agencies" (Findsen & Formosa, 2011, p.23). So learning is the small discoveries of new knowledge while being educated in a new subject.

"In his analysis of 'education', Peters advocates that the concept should embody the transmission of that which is worthwhile and valuable" (Findsen & Formosa, 2011, p.22). If education is the transmission of that which is worthwhile and valuable I wonder who determines what information is worth learning and what is not. If you were to measure a certificate of qualification in a trade against a persons Degree in Ancient Chinese History how would you determine the value. In higher education institutions the Degree would hold more weight for positions such as administration. The thought process is that they have gone through the process so they have a better understanding of education even though the Degree does not speak to the ability to deal with the different unions involved or demonstrates ability to manager and work with budgets and within policies and procedures. Of course if we were to walk onto a construction site the Certificate of Qualification in a trade would have the highest value. So this brings me back to my question, who decides?

We could determine the value based simply on income after graduation. Of course this calculation would be based on speculation due to trying to figure out what the wages will be for a particular career and how they will change over time but it is a measure.  There is the other thought that it is determined by employ ability after graduation as if there is an abundance of employers wishing to hire graduates with these skills then the education must of course be valuable. Of course the sensible thought would be a mixture of both. Choosing these types of career paths also help society as there is a need for these individuals. Others will make a choice for formal education that speaks to them as individuals and helps them expand and explore them self. They pick based on the experience and the quest for knowledge, not for employable skills. I must admit that I can not argue against either point of view. The value in the information transferred in formal education then is determined by the individual student after careful consideration of all aspects and what speaks to them.

Personally I feel that no mater what formal education one decides to enroll in, the true valuable learning comes once they have completed the credential and have started to experience the World while putting their new found knowledge to work. You see the science of a subject can be taught but the mastery of the art of that subject must be obtained through years of experience applying that knowledge. In this manor people take the formal education and through experience that involves critical self reflection and then future adjustment, they actually increase the value of that information that has been transferred. In some cases they actually create new knowledge on the subject they were formally trained in while learning at work in an informal manor which in turn will eventually shift the subject being taught (changing the formal information on the subject). The interesting piece is that they never place a credential on this, the informal learning that occurs in later life. New students trying to determine what to enroll in must ask some critical questions so that they can evaluate each choice and make the right one that is the most valuable to them. After graduation they then must take the time to apply that knowledge to their fullest extent so that they become masters of what ever career they have decided on.  The choice is theirs.

Jeff

Findsen, B. & Formosa, M. (2011) Lifelong Learning in Later Life, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Sense

Teaching is not about the Teacher

The title of this blog comes from a tweet by Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler) last week in which she made this very statement. I of course agreed, who would not. Surely any sane person knows that teaching is a process. Or surely any sane person who spent 25 years in industry would right away see that teaching is a process (we can discuss if I am sane or not latter). Of course what she really meant was that teaching was about the learner. The educator in me had to agree and I have been thinking about this point for several days now. I do see teaching as a process but it is a process that should be all about the learner. This also ties back into something that I believed since my career shifted to education seven years ago that if the students did not learn then I did not teach. The real funny piece is that teaching did not occur if there was no learning but learning occurs everyday without the presence of teaching.

In the original tweet she did mention about the statement that it is "My classroom" so "My rules" can be a turn off for students. In certain situations this is 100% true. On the first day the teacher can set out some guidelines and discuss them with the class to come up with reasonable classroom behavior. This will get buy in from the students as they were part of the formation of the rules. This of course does not hold true on certain shops or labs where the teachers rules are really tied to health and safety rules. In these cases the rules are tied to curriculum and form part of the learning experience for the student.

In thinking about this and doing a little digging there are tons of things on what is teaching and how to be a good teacher or how to make your instruction come to life. What I really wanted to know was how I can tell if I am building my lessons, creating the teaching process framework, with the teacher or student in mind. This is what I have been thinking about since reading the post and I hope I have found my answer. If as an educator you are continuing to look at ways to improve the delivery of the material, to find that really cool experiment that will blow their minds. If you start building next years class with the thought of what can I do to make this more exciting and head straight to the internet to find something cool you might be on to something. Of course we need to figure out how to make it totally awesome and meet them on their level so we get the next best gadget to but in the class as well. If you are also one of those educators that can not wait to share these great ideas with your fellow faculty so that they can benefit from your efforts then I can say for sure that your teaching is 100% about the teacher.

I think my teaching is about the learner. I always started to build next years lectures from the point of strength for the students which means to look at the grades for the subject in previous years. I asked what have I done that helped learning to occur and what did I do that simply was fun but I really did not teach. I then look at the lesson plan and determine what I need to keep, what needs to be improved and what needs to be scrapped. Of course as I build the new lesson plans I do keep in mind the possibility of bringing out the IPads if required but only if required as sometimes they hinder learning. I also try and have two approaches prepared for subjects in which students have struggled in the past so if the students do not seem to be learning I can switch and move on. I am not tied to or sold on anyone method as the end all as I know I might be wrong in my approach. If you always ask will this help them learn and then try and measure that learning and adjust then I think your teaching is totally about the learner, as it should be. 

Thanks Alice for getting me thinking and learning more about the process of teaching.

Jeff

@j_rmurrell

When I stop Learning, I have stopped Living

I believe that it was Aristotle that first indicated that each creature on the planet was made for one special purpose. They could do more than one, but their individual structure was designed for that one special task. The easiest example of this is fish, they are designed to swim. Lots of creatures can swim but fish are the best at it. With this in mind that each creature is best at just one thing, I feel strongly that humans are best at learning. This is what we are designed to do. We hear, see and feel new things around us each and every day. We take in this information and then internalize it and think about it, sometimes at great length, and come to a set of conclusions forming a new understanding of the world around us. We as educators simply get to set up the tasks and activities for children to learn. We SIMPLY set it up and the magic of learning happens. There is of course nothing simple about it.

What we sometimes fail to see is that while we are going through the process of determining what specific activity we are going to use in the class room, what reading we are going to assign and what technological tool we are going to use to help bring it all to life, we are learning. If to be human is to learn from each and every interaction then you have no choice but to learn. Of course we have not even considered what actually goes on in the classroom while the activity is happening and you are interacting with the students or reflecting on the class and marking assignments. We as teachers and educators are lifelong learners. Of course "lifelong learning has become a strong catchphrase during current times, a slogan bandied about in conferences, symposiums and seminars" (Findsen and Formosa, 2011, p.1). I would suggest that lifelong learning is not a catchphrase at all but simply a statement of what we are.

The concept of lifelong learning has got me to start to question the idea of life itself and what it really is. We string it together as a series of accomplishments and milestones that are all learning activities. Life is not a spectator sport, it is meant for us to take hold and get involved and to learn. My grandfather said to me once when I was a boy of twelve that the day he stopped learning was the day he stopped living. I of course have tried to learn new things everyday of my life. As my parents have started to age and we consider homes for them to move into I have really started to question the concept of education for older people and wonder what we should do as educators about it. "Keeping old people in a state of inertia, passively awaiting death, is a denial of the right to citizenship" (Findsen and Formosa, 2011). I of course think that when I stop learning I will stop living so keeping me in a state of inertia with no opportunity to interact and learn is death.

I think that there is no simple answer here for our aging population. There are two things we as educators can do to help. The first is easy as we get to interact with the people who will be filling these old age homes 60 years from now everyday. We need to make sure they understand learning is fun and that they should never stop trying to reinvent themselves. By reaching out to them now we might help them build and prepare to always learn. The other requires some work. Would it not be cool to start an evening of education in an old age home in your community. I wonder what information and knowledge I would get from the interaction?

Learning is not something that only happens in the classroom, from reading a book or the exercise of study. Learning occurs in many forms around us everyday in our day to day life's.  I have promised my self to never stop studying and growing. To never stop looking to the world and looking within for answers to life's questions. I shall always look to reach out and try new things, go to new places and meet new people. To interact, explore and discover. My goal is to live and learn.

Findsen, B. & Formosa, M. (2011), Lifelong Learning in Later Life. Rotterdam, Netherlands; Sense

High School Graduates Can do Math

     As an educator I said it myself and now as an administrator I have heard it weekly from instructors who report to me, graduates of grade twelve simply can not preform math. The number one complaint from instructors in any area of post secondary education is the lack of basic math skills. On this issue we have heard many weigh in expressing their concern. In fact to help improve this situation, many jurisdictions have shifted back to what they consider a more traditional math for grade school. Some have standardized testing to measure numeracy (as well as academic performance in other areas) to ensure that graduates of the school system can in fact perform basic math at the required level. The results indicate that the graduates can do math yet the problems still remain and educators in the post secondary system remain stead fast that grade twelve graduates can not perform math at a basic level. The education system indicates that the graduates can while the higher education institutes claim that they can not. I think they are both correct.
      Recently I was made part of a working group on retention and completion rates for apprentices. We brought together a cross section of individuals that had ties to the apprenticeship system in Ontario to explore the issues and come up with some concrete resolutions to solve this huge problem. We spoke of many different issues but kept coming back to the same concept, apprentices failed trade school because they could not do basic math. The decision was made to run a "pre-week" of training that would be used to bring the basic level of apprentices up to a required standard of math that would help them be successful in trade school. The week also included other information and instruction on proper study habits as well as introducing the apprentices to the number of different services available. This additional week of trade school was given to a select number of apprentices in a particular trade so we would have a large enough sample size to prove our theory and have significant data for the results.We decided in order to get the best data possible we would give every apprentice the Essential Skills for Ontario Tradespeople (ESOT) test at the beginning and end of the training. While the week of additional training did make a difference and it will be expanded to other trades in the next year, that is not why I am writing this Blog.
       When we received the results of the first ESOT test the results showed that both the mean and average scores indicated that the group did actually have numeracy skills that were well into the range required to be successful as a trades person in Ontario. We assumed these results must be a fluke but when the results for the fallowing groups came in showing the exact same results, it must be true. The apprentices can actually do the math and at the level required to be successful in a trade. So the K-12 education system is correct, they do graduate with the required math. How can the educators in post secondary all be wrong and why do we have such a high failure rate in courses in which they are required to perform math?
        On critically reflecting on this I came to realize that I know and have known for sometime, what is actually wrong. They can all do the math, they simply can not apply the math, and I am sure that many high school math teachers would be shocked at just how bad it is. For example, if I ask my electrical students to simply multiply 24 by 5, they quickly tell me that the answer is 120, and most do it without a calculator. If I tell them that I have a 24 ohm resistor that has an ampmeter in series with reading 5 amps, what is the voltage drop across the resistor. The result of course is exactly the same, 24 times 5 equals 120 volts but they are unable to do this easily and that is after having been shown ohms law and all of the related formulas. They can do the simple math when presented as simple math, they can not apply that math with additional concepts.
        I wish I had a solution to the problem. My gut tells me that the education system has actually done many things to improve. For some reason we have gone away from the ability to take that math and apply it. Some might think that the use of the calculator is the issue and want to transition back to a time when it was not used so heavily but I do not think that will help. In today's society, a calculator is at everyone's finger tips so why not in grade school? It could be the result of less play or the type. This might be the place in which math teachers of grade school could have a huge impact on their students by creating math that is play. I know that we speak about gamification but I do not think that it will work using a device. They need to take basic math skills and apply them away from the device to get the fulsome understanding of the concepts.  What ever the solution, I do know that we need to focus on applying math, they already can do it.

Jeff

The prison of Learning Disabilities for Adults

        Learning Disabilities are a struggle for many people of all ages. When we are dealing with grade school children we tend to treat them with care and compassion trying to help them work around their disability in the classroom. Fundamentally I feel that this is exactly what we should be doing as educators for these students as we help them progress through school. What I think that the system is lacking is giving these individuals solid life skills to deal with their disability when they have left the education system. When they are children we treat them with care and compassion, but not when they are adults. The stereotype of lack of intelligence cause many adults with learning disabilities to live their life in fear of being found out. This fear of being thought of as less intelligent if found out, no mater how moderate the Learning Disability is, becomes a prison that caries a life sentence. They never get out on good behavior no matter what they do. The fear is always there and they can never truly be free.
        "Adults with Dyslexia are more ashamed of their spelling - than their slow and inaccurate reading" ( Barton, September, 2014). The primary reason that they are ashamed of their poor spelling is that this is the dead give away that something is wrong. Many people feel that this problem should not be as significant now as everyone works with some sort of word processor that automatically checks the spelling. "For Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities and ADHD, these new literacies have the potential to redefine their disabilities and give them new ways of over coming them" (Gregg, P. 127). This might be true but it is not the little magic red lines under words we have typed. This in many ways is actually worse then how adults with poor spelling operated before. For example we have the two words "Status" and Statues". That magic little "e" does change the word significantly. Someone with Dyslexia, who has problems putting the letters together to form sounds and then words, might read these as the exact same word. It might get a green line when in a sentence but what about when it is a stand alone word in the heading of a chart?
         Now the issue is starting to grow as we are connecting digitally at an alarming rate. We send countless numbers of texts and e-mails daily. The world is shifting to more of a written word type of communication and less of a verbal one. This makes it much worse for the Dyslexic. "In the global conversation made possible by the internet, the easiest way to tell the smart folk from the knuckleheads is how often they make seemingly ignorant mistakes" (Adams, October, 2011). If one Albert Einstein was born at the beginning of this century instead of the last we may have never known the theory of relativity. He had Dyslexia and was unable to read until he was nine years of age. It is very possible that poor spelling would have rendered him into the "Knucklehead" category and no one would take him seriously. 
         I think that when students get to post secondary programs we should be developing courses that are mandatory for them to take on how to deal with their disability in the World of work they will soon enter. It is a very important step in preparing these young adults for a professional life.Letting them know about the potential pitfalls would be a huge step in helping them become all they wish to. I would suggest using new variations of the ways in which adults with Learning Disabilities dealt with the issue in the past. I suggest that they could have a dictionary with them. Any word that they try to figure out how to spell they should not rely on the red line. Even if they write the word and the red line does not come up they should look up the meaning of the one they have used. Keep another separate word document open also helps as they can then use the word in a different sentence that could expose if the word is the correct one. The easiest would be to have the software that will read them back what they have written. The problem with having a person prof read is they can relate the word to those written around it and might not pick the small mistakes out. The computer will simply read back each word on its own merit. I think that it is cheaper for the software that takes what is spoken and creates the document. This might even be a better solution for a Dyslexic. In any event, they need to be aware of the pitfalls and how they can overcome them.



Barton, S. (September, 14, 2014) Poor spelling is the Most Obvious sign of Dyslexia Retrieved from;
             http://susanbartondyslexiastories.com/2014/09/14/poor-spelling-is-the-most-obvious-sign-of- 
             dyslexia-2/

Adams, C.( October, 21, 2011) Are Poor Spellers Stupid? Retrieved from; http://www.straightdope.com
             /columns/read/3019/are-poor-spellers-stupid

Gregg, N. (2009) Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities and ADHD, New York, NY:
             The Guilford Press

The Pink Ghetto

       As I continue down my journey of enlightenment I have started to closely look at why young women do not enter the trades. I find it frustrating when I think of all the opportunities out there yet see them continue to enter into programs that do not lead to those positions that will give them financial rewards. Some would argue that money is not everything and there are other things in life that are rewarding and this is true. I knew a man who worked in our shop and he "was born to the broom". He loved it. He kept the entire place spotless. Whistled and sang all day long. So I get it. There are things that people truly love and are meant to do. What I do not understand is why people make a choice that is not something that they love to do, that will give them a career with limited income potential, and they will live life struggling to try and make enough money to pay for the hobbies that they truly love to do.

If you are going to work to make some cash to pay your bills, you might as well do something that will pay the best. Girls please start choosing a skilled trade and stay away from the pink ghetto.

Community project works for Lambton students

          Last Saturday I had the pleasure of speaking at the grand opening of the children's train station here at Canatara Park In Sarnia. The reason that I, the Associate Dean of Apprenticeship and Trades Training, was asked to speak is the apprentices built the train station. Now of course this project does not come together by the students simply showing up to preform the work. There were many community partners involved who supplied the materials and of course the train that now stays inside the beautiful little station they built.And the work would not have been completed without the dedication and engagement of the truly remarkable faculty and staff that we have at the Skilled Trades Training Centre at Lambton College. They all have an equal share in the project but I want to speak about the students.
           The students, to be exact the Intermediate Carpentry Apprenticeship intake for fall of 2013, are always what any of these types of projects are about for Lambton College. These type of projects give the students an opportunity to put into practice those skills that they have been taught and on a real life project. As well, it is much nicer for the students to be able to step back and look at the completed train station and gain a better understanding of the interconnection of each process in building. The hope is that they will also remember this project with pride that they had a hand in building and maybe they will be drawn to participate in community projects in the future.
          The day was great. It was bright and sunny at the park with a number of small children gathered around. Of course all of the donors, the Mayor of Sarnia as well as a bunch of the students and the faculty who actually built the station.With the speeches all complete, the red ribbon was cut and the door opened and out came the new little train. The children all ran with joy to get aboard for a ride. The children all loaded and away they went on the first ride of many for all of them over the course of the summer I am sure.
         After the train left a group of us entered the station to have a look at the inside. Included in that group was four or five of the students. These students were a little different then the rest of the group as they did not have families and had not brought along some small child who wanted to get a ride on the train. This group are young, mid twenty year old guys who came out and wanted to look at what they had accomplished. As they looked around and received handshakes and pats on the backs from a number of people it happened. It happened so fast it surprised me as I did not even know or suspect that it was coming. They all got the deeper point of them completing the project. In a matter of 60 seconds the idea was born, formed and put directly into action and I felt warm inside.
         As the conversation died down one of the students turned to the rest and said that they should have a committee at the union hall and be more involved in these types of projects all the time. From that statement came the ascent from his fellow class mates and a commitment form the local carpenters union(they were there as one of the donor's) and a committee was formed on the spot with a quick set of what types of projects they would look at participating in. It happened so fast that before I knew it, I was agreeing to sit on that committee as an adviser. It was a great feeling knowing that this group of young men came to Lambton College to obtain their level in apprenticeship training and based on the project that they participated in with us, they are now changed, for the better and will have a positive impact on the life's of others in our community. 
        The project worked.

Jeff

Students at CanStruct

Spencer Drake, 2014

I had one of the most enjoyable Saturday mornings this weekend and I actually spent it with some of our students from Lambton College participating in Sarnia's CanStruct. What is CanStruct? It is a community project where teams compete in local shopping malls to build sculptures out of non perishable food items. At the end of the event, the food is then donated to the local food banks. The Inn of Good Shepherd in Sarnia is the recipient of ours. This is a big event in Sarnia and during the pep rally in the morning the Inn of the Good Shepherd informed the crowd that in Sarnia last year they raised more food then cities like Toronto and London England during their events. This is the first year for Lambton College to compete and I am sure that it will not be the last.

Lambton College has always been a leader in student centered learning. We totally understand the importance for students to participate in the learning and have experiences that are the same or very similar to the actual experiences they will have in the work force. We have been a leader in activities centered around student experience such as our learning studio's. The next step is to embrace the new digital world. We have implemented what we call Class Plus. Class Plus is what others are calling "Mobile learning" but ours is more than that. Students will have a mobile device with which they are going to be participating and interacting with the learning during class. The possibilities are endless. Due to our direction and commitment to have all programs utilizing a mobile device in the class room I decided that we would build an ipad. I had gathered all the material that I thought they would need and all the canned food items and made a very rough sketch of my idea and then turned it over to the students on Saturday morning.

Spencer Drake, 2014

Most people think that when they choose a discipline that they wish to study, they will only learn job related skills at college. As educators of the future, we have a responsibility that is much deeper and all encompassing. We have to be part of the transformation of these young adults into good citizens by igniting in them a sense of social justice by showing them how important it is to give back. We also need to help them develop other skills such as working on a cross functional team, being able to respect each others ideas, problem solving under pressure and the ability to accept constructive criticism and learn and grow from it.


The reason I so enjoyed the day was because this project linked all of those related skills and these students performed as a team and were able to successfully complete the project. It would have been very easy for me to simply give them directions and have them simply assemble it but that was not the point of the day. I simply gave them everything that I had created and then stood back. They bumped into a few problems which they solved. One solution they came up with actually made it worse. They had to different types of cans. Juice Cans in the back (Apple for an Apple ipad) and then vegetable cans in the front. The back was very unsteady so they decided that hey need to link the front and back together using duct tape. This actually made it worse and almost pulled it over. They actually jumped into action, stabilized it, took the entire thing down, decided on another solution and then built it again. ( I only advised and guided them, it was their idea) I think the finished product of the day was great and these students are positioned well be be successful in their future. By the way, the CanStruction project turned out alright as well.

Spencer Drake, 2014

Jeff

Learning to Learn

When will they learn?

Students have no idea what it takes to learn. I had a group of students in my office today complaining that they just had no idea what was going to be on the mid term exam. They were unsure if the professor even covered the material. I went to the filing cabinet and retrieved my copy of the text that they are using for the class and then opened the book and asked them what chapters have they covered. The three chapters that they had covered looked simple enough to me and I am not a subject mater expert in that area. Next I asked what is in the course outline. That is when they looked at me like I was crazy. What does the course outline have to do with what is going to be on the midterm?

I had to explain to them that the course outline is the contract between the college and the students. It explains what the learning outcomes are for the course. It is in here that we are then able to narrow down what in the three chapters they will be tested on. Of the four standing there in my office not one of them had viewed the course outline. I showed all four on the LMS (Learning Management System) where they could find a copy for all their courses and then printed one off. I flipped to the learning outcomes and then showed them that each cross referenced to something in the text. A good place to start.

Next I asked for their notes. I saw that each days notes related back to one or more learning outcomes from the course outline and then back to the chapters in the book. I asked for study sheets and they had none. They also had no journal entries and again looked at me like I was crazy. They never read over the notes that they took in class and then critically reflected on what the professor was talking about. Without criticaal reflection how do they even hope to learn?

They pay their money to come and sit in class and I guess they think it will just sink in.

They will never learn and the reason is that we never teach them early enough for it to be a habit.

Happy teaching,

Jeff

When Yes did not mean they understand.

We as educators have all had this. We are working with a student who has expressed that they are having a problem. We run through the question with them giving a more detailed explanation of what we had shown to the class. When we have finished talking while the student stood there silent we look up to the student and ask "Do you understand?" We get the answer that we hope for and expect, "Yes". Great I always think, I am so good at reaching out to these young people and making them understand. Then when I get their homework assignment or mark the test the following week it hits me, they did not understand at all. What went wrong?

I have always approached this in the past as the student must have forgotten what I showed them or is listening to another studnet or is just not applying themselves properly. All of these could be the reason but I am starting to think that there might be something else going on here. There might be another deeper issue at play. The issue may be that of a cultural difference.

Now when I say a cultural issue people jump to all the visible differences and that is not it. In fact, I would think that since there are many people in your city or neighborhood that look different then you do but are also the third or fourth generation in that particular area, you will find that culturally the two of you could be very similar.

This difference is a more rooted inner cultural difference. To me, when I ask a student do they understand I am expecting that when they say yes that it means that they are going to be able to perform that task without any further questions or guidance. When the student answers yes they might mean something totally different. To the student they might be confirming that what I have shown them is correct but they still have no idea on why or how. They could just be from a culture where it is expected that there be no conflict so if they said no this would be a disagreement. What ever the difference I have had to except that when I ask the question and they say yes it does not always mean what I would like to think it means.

So what to do. I have started to change my approach when working with a student who has asked a question. Instead of the "Papa Jeff" approach where I take the note book and pencil and in my hand draw out the solution while explaining it and giving them and reassuring smile, I now question the student. I challenge them to start to think it out. Of course by asking key questions I am leading them through to the solution. In some cases you quickly push them out of their comfort zone and you have to guard against this as you do not want to stop them from asking questions.The key is to then get them at the end to explain it again to you and then turn on Papa Jeff with the reassuring smile and you got it.

This approach has turned out better results, and more confident students. Unfortunately, the students now ask more questions but the best part is that they are asking because they want to learn.

Have a great night.
Jeff

Skills Canada- Trades and Technology in Ontario

I have recently just finished a blog for Skills Canada-Ontario. Instead of actually rewriting the entire blog here I just thought that I would post the link. This is a new Blog for Skills Canada - Ontario and they are going to be asking different members of the Academic Trades and Technology world to share their views. My idea, so I got to go first. Please enjoy my blog and maybe book mark it as well since there will be a wide varity of views on education in Technology and Trades expressed here.

http://ontskilledtrades.wordpress.com/


Jeff

Kids stop bullying

I  think that it is in a song somewhere about one gun getting added to one gun and then one gun is added on. Same thing with your voice. Once someone stands up and says hey that's not cool, another person soon follows until there is a huge body of people saying, hey that's not cool.

The story in the attached video is of a six year old boy who had a brain tumor that the doctors told his parents would make it impossible for him to meet any of his milestones. This little boy has and he walks, runs etc. Part of his disability is a severe speech impediment. Of course, if you did not hear him speak you would not know anything was wrong with this little boy, kind of. For what ever reason, he has decided he wants to wear a shirt, tie, jacket and hat. It makes him feel comfortable. This is were the bullying started. Fortunately he participates on a football team as a water coach and when they found out, they rallied around him.

For most children living through this there is no football team to back them up. What they need is us. We need to start telling children that they need to be brave and be the first voice saying it is not cool. We need to make sure that they know if they are the first voice, lots of voices will join in. An adult voice will not stop it and sometimes it actually makes it worse.The voice needs to come from a peer.  It is hard to be brave for a child as most adults are not.  When we see bullying happening it only takes one voice to stop it and I hope we all become the first voice.

Watch the video and please be that voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq7ZgXz_YLc


When school starts back in January I will be wearing a hat. I hope I am questioned so I can share my one voice.


Have a great Holiday

Jeff

Math Comes up Again.

Only a week ago we heard about the poor state of math in our education system and the numerous suggestions on how we can improve it. This subject came up as part of a meeting I was attending as a member of HAT (Heads of Apprenticeship Training) with OCOT (Ontario College of Trades) and the Curriculum Development Committee for Carpentry. The group had assembled to work through some issues that have came up due to the transfer of the curriculum from the Ministry of Training for Colleges and Universities to OCOT.

The change in the curriculum is well over due and very needed. The Curriculum committee has done a great job putting together the proposal. The conversation centered around the details of what needed to stay and what we would have to remove. One subject, that in my mind, should not be part of the curriculum, is Math. This time would be better spent applying math that the apprentices have been exposed to in their secondary education to the trade. Then it happened. The statement was made that people with a grade twelve College level math did not have the basic numeracy skills to be successful as a carpenter apprentice.

Of course the suggestion was made that they would need to change the entry level requirement into the trade. There are a number of options for a College level certificate or two year diploma related to the field. This option was actually considered as a possibility until it was determined that establishing this was totally outside the scope of anyone at the table. The Math has stayed.

What it has made me wonder is if these students are not able too be successful at apprenticeship then how could they possibly succeed in an advanced diploma. The answer to the question is of course they can not. Students who take the college level math in their secondary education have actually made it very difficult for them to achieve success in any of the  technology programs offered at anyone of the Colleges in Ontario. Also, if we looked at the data, we would find that this is why we are suffering a problem with retention and completion of apprenticeship.

I don't know the answer. I do think that the education system has to change and start holding students back who do not demonstrate basic numeracy skills. By doing this it will give back value to the completion of a grade twelve diploma.

Have a great week,

Jeff

Math - Something does not add up

This past week the international report on how 43 countries are preforming on math was released and of course the usual media activity soon followed. Canada, while doing much better then the other "western" nations, came in at 13. Not bad if you ignore that this is a six spot drop on the list over the past two reports. Of course this was pointed out by several news reports which also tried to point out the problem with Canada's school system. Most pointed at two main  possible causes. Poor teachers who are not prepared to teach math, and of course the curriculum needs to be adjusted back to a more traditional one. This for me just does not add up.

I visited a local high school as a representative of our College and was asked a question by some of their faculty that kind of made me understand the first point in these news casts. They said "What do we need to teach our technology students to better position them for your trades and technology related programs, and don't say math?" These teachers don't want to teach math because it is boring. They want to teach all the things that are part of the learning outcomes in our technology programs instead of preparing them for post secondary by giving them a proper foundation.

It is so easy to point out that this is a problem in our elementary and secondary school systems. They are the ones with the task of teaching these very fundamental subjects. One suggestion of the media is very true. We need to go back to traditional curriculum. This will help but only take us part way. We need also to remove all of the calculators from math class. Children need to be able to figure things out in their head. This will put us back on a path of strong mathematical skills in our youth giving them an opportunity to meet the skills shortage of tomorrow.

After this there is nothing else the school system can do. No magical fix that some of the other countries are doing that we do not know about. They need to just hand back the traditional curriculum's to teachers and take away all the cool subjects they want to teach.Also make a hard fast rule that indicates when and how calculators can be used in math class. Yet, even with some of our Canadian schools teaching a more traditional curriculum, they are not preforming at the level of other nations. This is where things do not add up and there has to be something else. I believe there is a very big piece missing, but it can not be supplied in a school.

The way our children play is ever changing and I think in here lies a key. I was shopping last week for my grandchildren for Christmas and picked up a Monopoly game. This will be great, I thought, they are at the age when they will need to be doing the math required in this game. The picture on the box was different and on closer examination I found that this game now has a computer to figure everything out for them. They don't do any math at play so it is little wonder that they can not figure things out, they have never have to. Games is a big part of the reason that these children do not know how to do  math. I know that I enjoyed the times I would play crib with my grandfather and the entire time I was learning math and strategy. Kids are competitive and by giving them a game in which they have to do simple math to win, they will quickly learn the simple math as well as fundamental problem solving. This allows the school to teach more complex math, thus preparing them for post secondary and to help fill the skills shortage.

Parents, the best thing you can do for your child is to play.

Have a great week,

Jeff

Digital Citizenship - Week Twelve

The final week of the course but will it be the final blog?

First I want to thank all of my classmates who took the journey with me. This was great fun and it has been a pleasure reading and sharing all your thoughts and ideas around digital citizenship. I must admit that there were times when I felt that there was no way that I was going to be able to complete some of these tasks as I was a digital immigrant but that over the twelve weeks has changed and here we are, at the end with a new attitude on technology and the possibilities for education.

I have tried to google myself a few times over the course of the the program. Unfortunately, or fortunately, there are a lot of people with my exact same name who come up every time. One does lighting for movies and I knew of him as I am one of those people who read the credits. There are a couple of Lawyers, a musician and know I show up. I think that one of the reasons that I do not show up near the top of the page is that I have a limited digital footprint currently. If I make my search very specific like adding the city I live in or my job title then I of course pop up first. I have but one choice to change this and that is by having a greater digital footprint. I will do this by continuing to be digitally active.

I have really enjoyed the common sense approach to the nine elements of a good digital citizen. while participating in the course I have discovered that they are not simple. It takes some real understanding and a good social compass to be able to ensure you are always acting correctly. In fact I had someone today ask me if I was upset about something because I did not include a salutation in the beginning of an e-mail. I was not, they needed a response right away on an issue and I was running to another meeting. Just saving time. If they came to my office door and asked a question they would have gotten the same short answer followed by "I have a meeting so I have to run" and they would not have thought anything of it. I need to make sure I always take that couple of extra minutes to interact properly or don't respond at all.

I think that at the College I work at I have many opportunities to help others by simply being a good digital citizen. If I show people how to act appropriately and when they have not give them guidance, then they will all start to act properly. I am also going to get my faculty to implement elements into the courses that they are teaching that have an online component. This is very important as I think that young people are just looking for guidance. If we teach them and show them they will start to teach and show others.

This might be my final blog for this course, but it is not my final blog. I am hooked. I have a few ideas of what I will be writing about next week. I of course am going to have to come up with a better name for my new blog. I do like to write when I critically reflect so it is very possible that I will continue to write weekly just as a reflection on what ever subject I am taking. Look me up and follow if you wish.

It was a blast. Have a great Holiday,

Jeff

Digital Citizenship - Week Eleven

This was a fantastic week that I truly enjoyed. I have book marked extra sites into my diigo from this week that I have not had a chance to explore yet but will well after the course is complete. The week was jammed with all sorts of exciting and interesting information that every good digital citizen should know about.

The first thing that we explored was the MOOC or Massive Online Open Course. These seem to be growing as more and more Ivy League Universities are starting to get involved. In my feedy a few weeks ago I came across a very interesting piece that indicated there would always be the need for a teacher. The thing is, the teacher will change. In my view, it becomes even more important that we teach children how to be good digital citizens because they could be participating and collaborating with other students in away that they transition back and forth from being the learner to being the teacher and back again. 

I really enjoyed the reading that was set out in the course as well. It is kind of interesting that we see all these people wondering why a College or University would venture into the realm of MOOC's. One such article speaks to the lack of a business plan by these institutions. The suggestion that eventually they charge actually defeats the purpose of an open or free course. So why would they do it? I believe that they have thought it through very nicely. In fact, the article does brush on the subject of attracting students. I think this is at the root. As our World becomes more of one large global community, attracting the best students becomes an increasingly harder task. I think that the best students will be in these MOOC's. Those that succeed must be master students as defined by Ellis, Toft and Dawson (2012), so my question is why would you not want to reach out to these students?

I think that by going where the students are, online learning, they have a better chance of drawing them into the programs that already exist in their institutions. There is no way a student would sign up for a MOOC delivered by some no name person run out of the spare bedroom of an apartment somewhere when they can sign up to a MOOC delivered by Harvard with a rock start in the field as the subject mater expert. These Ivy League schools will push the small guys back out of the market and at the same time, once they have the infrastructure built, be doing their recruitment at a fraction of the cost. The revolution in education is upon us. Not really. I think that we have a really cool way of learning and connecting through MOOC's but it will still be the degree that gets you the job.

The other piece that we explored this week was pod and screencasting. I found these to be great tools that can be used in your PLE (personal learning environment). I think that there is a huge advantage for an educator to use both of these tools to create mini lectures and demonstrations on subjects that can then be used by students around the world and for generations to come. One such person who has been successful has been Kahn. Of course, there will always be those who think that these tools are not good and will start to pick them apart. I found a great article written from a neutral stand that will allow the reader to make their own choice. In my mind these tools are great and will always be part of my future PLE, whether I am officially the teacher or the student.

The other very important piece we explored was adding a creative commons license to our Blog. You can find mine at both the top and bottom of my blog. This is critical for anyone who wants to utilize the tools of web 2.0. I think that there really should be another agreement process we have to go through that shows us where and how to get and protect ourselves with a creative commons license before we can go onto the internet. I now know how to do it, have book marked the page, and will make sure in the future I will add a license to anything I create and post. 

I found two great pieces in my feedy this week that I really want to share. The first is on using your Diigo to automatically feed you the information for a daily blog. This is a cool idea and i can hardly wait to try it out. The second is an interesting cartoon that was posted as well. Not much information here but it will leave you thinking about how we look at students. I hope you look at this cartoon and reflect on how many fish you have ever asked to climb a tree.

Have a great weekend.

Jeff

Chen, Angela. (2012). Parody Critiques Popular Khan Academy Videos. Retrieved from; http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/parody-critiques-popular-khan-academy-videos/37543

Davis, Vickie, (2013). How to automatically post bookmarks to your post using Diigo. Retrieved from; http://www.coolcatteacher.com/videos/automatically-post-bookmarks-blog-using-diigo/?utm_source=feedly

Davis, Vickie, (2013). The education Cartoon everyone Should Read. Retrieved from; http://www.coolcatteacher.com/quotes/education-cartoon-everyone-read/?utm_source=feedly

Ellis,D. Toft, D. and Dawson, D. (2012) Becoming a Master Student. (5th ed).Toronto, Ont. Canada.

Gsiemens, (2013). WISE Panel: Can MOOC's democratize higher education. Retrieved from; http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2013/11/05/wise-panel-can-moocs-democratize-higher-education/

McKenna, Laura. (2012). The big Idea That an Revolutionize Higher Education: MOOC's. Retrieved from; http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/the-big-idea-that-can-revolutionize-higher-education-mooc/256926/

 Selingo, Jeff. (2012). As Elite Colleges Invite the World Online, Questions Remain on their Business Plan. Retrieved from; http://chronicle.com/blogs/next/2012/05/19/as-elite-colleges-open-to-the-world-online-questions-remain-on-business-plan/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

Screencast Tool

I hate doing it because there has to be away but I give up. Spent way to long trying to embed my screencast onto my blog. I originally started by trying to do a podcast but did not like it for this assignment so I changed to the screencast. The week and entire course is quickly coming to a close and I must move on so that I can complete the big project. The funny thing is that my screencast is about putting in the Creative Commons license on your blog. As well, I have not had any difficulty getting other images to embed. Eventually I have to push back, laugh and move on, if I don't, the computer would end up out the window floating away on Lake Huron. I am sure that in some cases, like this one, I have discovered and learned more from the struggle than I did from the actual process of creating the screencast. While I reflect on this and figure out how to embed a screencast I will discover the lesson. For now, this too will have to wait. Please see the link attached. I at least got that correct.

http://screencast.com/t/qEylzShw

When I first started to look at these sharing tools I thought that there was no place for them in my Personal Learning Environment. I viewed these tools as ones that I would only use to communicate with the World or my students as an instructor. This to me looked more like the reverse video that has been showing up in several classrooms, and would make great ones. The instructor logs in, creates either a podcast or screencast on a subject and then posts it within the walled garden of the Learning Management System for the students to view. This becomes a great tool for instructors to help students figure out complex principles or may even allow them to cover a subject the entire class did poorly on in a test.

While I had all these wonderful ideas floating in my head as I explored both of these tools, it dawned on me that others would have the same idea as well. Why spend my time creating new podcast on a subject when there must be someone out there doing it already. Why not search and subscribe to these. The information then, just like my feeder, comes to me. If I find great podcast, I can then share these with other students.

The screencast tool really spoke to me. I totally enjoyed the process and believe that this tool used correctly in a classroom or learning situation will help students grow and learn. A screencast will allow students to be both the teacher and the learner at the same time. If a student asks another one for help and the second student creates a screencast to walk them through the problem, the second student has actually become the teacher. This process makes the student to move the information into a different part of the brain and they will actually retain the information much longer. There is a better chance for real learning and discovery when this occurs. Used at it was here in this course, we all became teachers for these short little video's. I am sure we choose things that would be easy for each one of us to do our assignment on as that is human nature. While I was doing mine I know that I did learn a lot more about Creative Commons.

This was an excellent project that I really enjoyed (I was only kidding about my computer going for a swim) even if I could not get the video to embed. I totally now believe that both of these can be in my PLE as collaboration tools or for collecting information or better yet as pieces to assignments that I will be completing in the future.

Jeff

Digital Citizenship - Week Ten

I really have enjoyed the video at the beginning of this week as I do totally agree with Kirby Ferguson and have watched it several times this week. I liked it so much I could not resist adding it here. Try as I might, the code supplied for embedding just would not work. I loved the piece where Kirby speaks to Apple and how they used copyright to their advantage.

I honestly believe that the people in the world are no smarter then those generations past, we just have been starting our learning and exploring and expanding our knowledge base from a totally different starting point. This is accelerating at the speed of the web as new ideas are shared almost instantly. The gap between time and space has shrunk considerably in the past century. Albert Einstein was several years getting his new theory of relativity out to the world and yet more before he could prove it as he was trapped in war torn Europe. We now get video footage from behind the lines almost as fast as it is happening. I know I have never had a truly new idea in my life but rather just thoughts or adjustments to the ideas of others. The entire world remixes.

The object of study this week of course would be copyright laws. While most people might not enjoy the exciting read any copyright law is, I am sure they would prefer it to a court order. One of the pieces that I did learn form was the part on fair dealing. I find this very interesting and I think that its intent is to enable some people the ability to use certain material in constructive ways for the betterment of all. I like that it does give the ability for material to be used in education and for study. I do find it interesting that this has yet to be tested in the courts. I would hate to be the first so for the near future I will still proceed with caution. I think that if I remain reasonable and remember to properly cite the information then I should be safe. While it might seem like they have given education more freedoms, we did learn last week that with freedom comes responsibility so I will still cite.

The creative commons article was also very interesting and enlightening. I totally enjoyed looking at each of the creative commons licenses when I was looking for images for my Aminoto. A very cool concept and I think that it will become a huge piece of my classrooms going forward. As our College moves towards an entirely mobile institution, more and more students will be posting things on the web. They will all need to understand this concept and I think that as a College we should make it a policy that we do not allow students to post anything they will be using for grades unless they have first created their own Creative Commons account. It protects the students, has them learn about copyright and helps them become better digital citizens.

Unfortunately I did not find anything in my feeder that peeked my interest. There was one that started out very good but turned into speaking about funding. Another that I did enjoy was based on five lies about Brock University. I liked this because some of the things mentioned had actual ties to being a good student, which every successful Brock Student must be, as well as some humor. Check them out.

Have a great weekend.

Jeff

Ted Talks (2012), Kirby Ferguson:Embrace the Remix. Retrieved from; http://on.ted.com/FergusonRemix

Media Smarts (n.d.), Fair Dealing for Media Education. Retrieved from; http://mediasmarts.ca/intellectual-property/fair-dealing-media-education

Wolf, L.G. (2010). Remix Reuse Recycle- A Creative Commons Assignment. Retrieved from; http://www.leighgraveswolf.com/2010/06/11/remix-reuse-recycle-a-creative-commons-assignment/

 

Animoto project

Here is my first ever Animoto but I promise that this will not be my last.



Copyright by J. Murrell

While I really enjoyed using the Animoto tool and like the result, I did find this project a little frustrating as I did spend way to much time on it. It may have been the process that I went through and not actual tool. Once I got into creating my video it was very easy. I am sure that once I start using it more, and I will be using it more, I might spring for the upgrade and then I am sure that it would be much easier. I see myself using this in the future for embedding a message into a blog or as part of a presentation that I might give and of course for creating cool family memories. what I am not sure is if this will fit into my personal learning environment. I know all tools are not for everyone and I kind of feel that this one is not for that use for me.

The message that i was trying to get across was that people always think that everything on the internet is free but of course we are now good digital citizens and know this is not true. People who do not obey copyright laws can get themselves into a lot of trouble. It is important that you know the restrictions on the use of anything and then abide by them. Of course, just because you can use it does not mean that you do not have to give the owner of the item credit. I hope you enjoy my little creation. While the assignment may have been frustrating, the actual creating the video was fun.

Have a good week,

Jeff